Consider Sandra’s lecture “Directing Actors” and describe at least a couple of points that you took away from it (even if you’re not the director).
I loved Sandra’s lecture. She had some really insightful things to say.
Sandra explained to us that the two key relationships on set are the director-actor relationship and the direction-DP relationship.
One thing that I found incredibly insightful were her words on directing actors. She recommended rehearsing actors beforehand and, in this rehearsal, talking to them about story (rather than talking to them about story on shoot day). She underscored honesty and simplicity when dealing with actors. Dumb it down. Simplify everything. She also talked about mood when directing actors, saying that being relaxed and enthusiastic and honest is a good combination. Because actors sense when the director is unhappy and it affects their confidence and, consequently, their ability to perform.
What I found fascinating was her discussion on rehearsing for a non-dialogue film. She recommended that we approach it with a camera. I’d never even considered this. What a fantastic idea. Have an idea of the shots and rehearse the scene with a camera. She also recommended to rehearse in the location we’d be shooting in.
Then she talked about directing actors on set. She said that everyone will want something from the director, but the actor ultimately needs the most from the director. On set, it’s crucial to be aware. Be honest, but delicate. Honest in terms of telling the actor what isn’t working. Delicate in the sense of not doing this in front of everyone, and delivering it in a relaxed, enthusiastic way. She said not to talk too much to the actors on set because it clouds their head and overwhelms them, which hinders their performance. I think that’s a really good tip. Especially for me. Because I know that I would just want to share every idea of mine with the actors so that they’d understand everything in detail and have as much enthusiasm for the film as I would. She also recommended giving the actor the momentum of the prior scene’s emotion, which is another great tip.
I wasn’t the director for our film, but I did spend some time with the actors. Our actual director couldn’t make the rehearsal day we had for our actors, so I had to coach them on what sort of acting we wanted for our film. And I found this incredibly fun. I learnt so much. And I was surprised because it came quite easily for me. I think it came easily because I’d written the script and understood the story and characters so well. So, I was able to articulate things–characters’ moods and motives, story, style–to the actors well. So, I guess it came easily because I was prepared.
In particular, I had a strong vision of the film’s style (having made the mood-board), which I thought was necessary for the actors to understand. I showed them the mood-board, and explained to them that their acting was crucial to the film’s style. I explained to them that we intended to edit the film so that there were quick, snappy cuts between characters (especially for the dinner scene). Their acting was vital not only to the speed/length of the film (has to be around five minutes), but also to its pace/rhythm. And I explained that we wanted this pace to be upbeat. Almost theatrical. We didn’t want the film to be flat. Because there is so much space/opportunity for flat moments in the script. So we need everything to be tight and crisp and upbeat and theatrical. The pace is key. I really emphasised the bizarre, theatrical, upbeat style of the film for the reason behind their performances. I told them to give it their all in terms of energy, because this was a film that could not be flat and succeed. The film relies on the energy and style and pace of the acting. I said that we could always tell them on set to reel it in, so don’t worry about going too far and being self-conscious. I think that resonated with the actors.
When taking them through scenes, I found it most efficient to be straightforward with the actors as fast as possible. And this was incredibly rewarding. If their performance had not been quite right, then I’d stop them and explain to them–without being awkward and critical–that the scene required a pause here, or a frown here, or an eye-twitch and head-tilt here, or raised eyebrows and a smile here, or this line to be said with an upward inflection, or this to be done much bigger. And then I’d give them a reason behind it. Most often, the reason was regarding film style (especially film pace). Or character mood or motive. Then I’d get them to do it again. And again. I also found that just saying “bigger” during their performance was really helpful. I also encouraged each actor to write down acting notes on their script.
I’d tell them when it was the pinnacle of the story and explain that this meant their actions and dialogue had to be even bigger. For example, when rehearsing the final scene, I gave the main actor five minutes to get into as high a state of agitation as possible. I explained the motive, thoughts, moods for his character in this scene. I gave him a sense of the acting style for the scene–“Think druggie. Think stereotypical comical character from a mental institution.” I instructed him on specific actions – wringing hands, muttering (say, “the leg”), wide, darting eyes, hunched over. I demonstrated. I cued him on how and when and why to trip. All the while, explaining the film rhythm.
I also found it incredibly helpful to demonstrate every correction I gave. Because I knew the script/story/characters/style so well and because I’d had some experience in acting, demonstrating came surprisingly naturally. And it really helped. I also found that demonstrating was great because the actors saw that it was OK to perform way bigger. To work with them that way was kind of cool because you aren’t just telling them to look stupider. You’re showing them that you yourself are willing to – and can manage to – look as stupid as (or even stupider than) you are telling them to be. To let go as much as you’re telling them to. And this demonstrates that you are with them. And it becomes a sort of comradeship. And it demonstrates that you’re really passionate about the film. So the actors also become passionate about the film.
I also learnt how to be democratic in rehearsal by giving every actor a relatively equal amount of straightforward feedback, so that no one felt awkward. And this immediate, straightforward/honest/blunt feedback was efficient and rewarding for everyone. I think the actors really appreciated it. Because when they got it, they got it. And I’d make sure they knew they’d got it by exclaiming, “Perfect! Now do it exactly like that on the day! Exactly! Perfect!” And upon leaving, I made sure they knew how great their performances had been and how grateful I was for them having made the effort to come the rehearsal and how excited I was for Lauren, our director, to see their perfect performances.
I learnt that it’s so important to give actors the respect of explaining reasons for things. And the respect of explaining the story, and its style. And how it will ultimately look because of the editing intention. And how exciting that will be. And the respect of telling them straightforwardly to do something another way. Because this shows that you actually have confidence in their ability to do it that way. And it’s efficient. And it gives them confidence. And you all spend minimal time feeling awkward. And it gives them mounds of confidence when they get there and you tell them that it was absolutely brilliant and perfect. And this is so rewarding for everyone in the room. The quicker they get feedback, the quicker they can get it right, and the quicker they have confidence in their ability to perform the role, and the more confidence and enthusiasm they have about the film. It’s essential to make the rehearsal room a space for collective, productive stupidity. Free from self-consciousness. Enthusiasm and passion is infectious and trickles down to the actors.
I honestly learnt so much and had so much fun and found that rehearsal session to be so rewarding. I loved it.
(Whoops. Got a bit off topic. Back on track now.)
Another very good recommendation of Sandra’s was to be prepared with “B-scenes” in case something went awry on shoot day (e.g. time). She said that it was best to keep these B-scenes a secret between only a couple of crew members, rather than letting everyone know about them. I think this could be because having everyone aware of the B-scene option might lower their expectations to ‘only having to shoot the B-scene’. Whereas keeping everyone’s aim at shooting the A-scene means that there is a greater likelihood of succeeding. So, Sandra talked about what would perhaps be in the B-scene. For example, a merging of scenes. If you’re short on time, or it’s raining outside where the scene is supposed to take place, then merge the scene with another scene. Get the essence of the scene you can’t do, and put it into another scene. As the writer for our film, this is not a nice thought. Cutting scenes in the script on set doesn’t appeal to me. But, at the same time, it’s really clever – to look for the essence of the scene being cut and merge it into another scene. I think it’s an amazing tip. An amazing tip that, hopefully, I’ll never have to use!
There was one thing Sandra said that I disagreed with though. This was her recommendation to “shoot stuff outside as much as possible, so that you don’t have to light too much”. I completely disagree with this. I say to shoot in controlled conditions. Outside is not controlled and makes everything a whole lot harder. You’re exposed to elements – weather, passers-by, noise, etc. And even if you’re shooting outside, you’re going to have to light it as much as if you were shooting inside. The only difference is that, outside, you have lighting that is constantly changing. One of your key lighting sources is time dependent. So you risk giving your continuity person an emotional breakdown. I think it’s best, especially for smaller scale productions, to shoot in controlled conditions. Having control of lighting, sound, etc. gives you so much more opportunity to make things amazing. Lighting wise. Sound wise. Production design wise. Acting wise. And you can make it amazing with far less effort (compared with trying to control conditions on an outside shoot). In my opinion, there are too many variables on an outside shoot. Well, too many variables for a small-scale production to try to control. And whatever can go wrong will go wrong.
One inspiring thing that Sandra said was to take a little risk with our shooting. Think about a standard way of shooting the scene. Then try to think about a not-so-standard way of shooting the scene. She recommended imagining how we would shoot the scene in a single shot, because that constraint often brings great ideas. And I think this is some really great advice.
My favourite thing that Sandra said was: “Sometimes a director’s job is to be inspired by the films around them.” This made me happy. Because I can do this. I’m insanely inspired by movies all the time. Even just videos. Even just some shot. Or some sound technique. Or some editing technique. Or some style. Or some story. I always find something I love about a movie. And inspiration is addictive. In my opinion, there are two types of people. Filmmakers and film critics. It also made me happy when she said, “It helps to watch a lot of movies”. I’m pretty sure this made everyone in the lecture theatre happy. Ha. Yeah. We can totally do that!